April 30, 2025
Spring 2025 Graduate: Vicie Byrd
Name: Vicie Byrd
Major/Degree Program: MaEd Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in History
Hometown/Current City: Hometown – Newport NC, Current City – Jacksonville NC
Hobbies/interests: History (documentaries, podcasts, books, anything really history related – I’m a huge nerd! I also really love talking about history which is probably why I decided to torture teenagers with it lol) I also crochet and knit
What’s your favorite memory from your time at ECU? This one is tricky since I wasn’t on campus – I completed my degree online but I have had really memorable experiences in the synchronous history classes I have taken. We have such good conversations concerning historiography and how our conceptions of the historical narrative have become more inclusive and global. It’s a very exciting time to be an historian and to teach history. New documentary evidence is being released all the time and scholarly analysis and commentary is being written and there are so many new things to learn! It’s just very exciting. Also, from my education classes – being able to put into practice what I am learning from a pedagogical standpoint has really been a game changer. I’ve seen a difference student engagement and a desire to learn history through the methodologies we have covered. The dynamic of being in school while actively teaching has allowed me to see the theory come to life and its, for lack of a better word, magical. I guess I don’t really have one memorable experience but an entire series that amount to an amazing two years that I am grateful for.
What inspired you to pursue a career in education? My oldest son, Alfred. Really and truly I wanted to pursue graduate studies in history and stay locked up in dusty rooms perusing archives with white gloved hands, writing books, and theorizing with other other history nerds (aka professors). My oldest son was born my Junior year as an undergraduate and I realized that grad school at that point wasn’t in the cards. So I talked with my advisor and decided to get a concentration in education so I could still do what I loved (talk and learn about history). Once I started taking pedagogy classes and completing practicum I realized how much I really enjoyed teaching. I’m not the kind of person to do something half-way and realized I needed either to be all in or all out. At that point I decided I was all in. I made it my goal to be the kind of teacher I wanted my son to have. I’ve been making that decision everyday for the past 17 years.
Who has made the biggest impact on your journey here? Dr. Gallagher. She is my advisor and I’ve also taken several of her classes. Her input and willingness to listen to my ideas has given me the confidence and the opportunity to try new things in my classroom and provided new strategies for me to more effectively teach history, which in reality, is teaching the future generation to actively participate in democracy. Also, my husband and sons — they have really put up with a lot and have supported me through grad school. My husband stays up late with me or goes to bed on his own, I’ve missed wrestling matches and football games. They clean the house, do laundry and cook dinner when I’m stressing about assignments without ever complaining. Most importantly they have been my biggest cheerleaders and a source of constant encouragement.
What’s next after graduation? I am going to continue to work at the school where I currently teach. I may be provided the opportunity to take on an instructional coaching role next year and I am looking forward to a new set of challenges and successes in that regard.
What advice would you give to future College of Education students? Make everything you do means something. Do it with a purpose and be intentional. Education is (not to sound cheesy) the great equalizer. As educators we have the opportunity to shape future generations for good or ill. We literally have the future of this country sitting in our classrooms – I know that sounds super melodramatic but that is the absolute truth. That is why we have to be intentional, not perfect, but intentional in what we do in our classrooms, how we treat our students, the content we present to them. If you live your classroom life intentionally students will learn to live that way too. Most importantly, BE BRAVE. Be brave enough to trust that your students (even the most difficult ones) want to and are capable of learning. Be brave enough to have hope and to never give up – even when disaster and disappointment seem to crush you, you have to get up and try again. If not for your own sake but for the sake of your kids. Be brave enough to trust the learning process, both for yourself and for your students. Be brave enough to challenge yourself and your students. Be brave enough and vulnerable enough to learn with them, make it a group effort. Be brave enough to try new strategies and involve the students in those trials – no one expects you to know everything, trust me, and mistakes are expected. By adapting, overcoming, correcting, everyone gets stronger, more resilient, and your students will be better equipped to handle the life they have ahead of them. Be brave enough to believe that you are a game changer (because you are).
How has the College of Education prepared you for the classroom (or your next step?) Where do I even start with this one? There are so many things. The classes on leadership have helped me navigate difficult terrain and helped me understand the politics of the school setting (I was in denial about this because I really want the world to revolve around the concept “It’s not who you know it’s what you know” but it doesn’t). The pedagogical classes have expanded my tool kit and the TARP allowed me to explore the intricacies of student learning and engagement and provided actual data to support my theory concerning multicultural inquiry which is amazing because I have something to prove why I do what I do in my classroom. Importantly, learning to analyze data on that level is very helpful for me going into an instructional coaching position and better equips me to help other teachers perfect their practice.
From Dr. Jennifer Gallagher (associate professor in history education): Vicie has been a phenomenal graduate student. Her work has been exemplary – especially her engagement with readings and her writing. She has taken every opportunity to learn more through extra discussions with professors, etc. BEST OF ALL, Vicie has been implementing much of what she has been learning in her classroom. She has begun teaching through an inquiry model and engaging in discussions of difficult history with her students. For these reasons, and I’m sure many more, Vicie was recently awarded Teacher of the Year at her school in Onslow County.